Saquon Barkley’s run lifts Penn State over Minnesota 29-26 in OT

Up until Saquon Barkley ripped off a winning, 25-yard touchdown run through the middle of Minnesota’s defense in Penn State’s 29-26 overtime win over the Golden Gophers at State College, Pennsylvania, Barkley had been bottled up, driven backward for losses and frustrated.

“I’m really proud of Saquon,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “He’s not having the big games and statistics that I think people anticipated or expected, you haven’t seen him once with bad body language, hang his head, been a great team player.”

Barkley’s dazzling run came at a critical time for Penn State (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten). The Nittany Lions, already down seven injured starters, risked a 0-2 conference start amidst growing fan frustration that prompted athletic director Sandy Barbour to declare earlier in the week Franklin’s job is not in jeopardy.

West Virginia 17, Kansas State 16: Skyler Howard threw a touchdown pass and the Mountaineers (4-0, 1-0 Big 12)came from 13 points down in the second half to beat the Wildcats (2-2, 0-1) in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Notre Dame 50, Syracuse 33: DeShone Kizer threw for a career-best 471 yards to help the Fighting Irish (2-3) overcome another shaky performance by their defense and special teams and beat the Orange (2-3).

Northwestern 38, Iowa 31: Justin Jackson ran for 171 yards and Austin Carr caught three touchdown passes as the Wildcats (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten) held on to beat the Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten).

Air Force 28, Navy 14: Tailback Tim McVey scored twice, including a 62-yard TD catch, as the Falcons (4-0) beat the Midshipmen (3-1) to take a big step toward claiming the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

LSU 42, Missouri 7: Derrius Guice rushed for a career high 163 yards and three touchdowns, and LSU (3-2, 2-1 SEC) looked dominant in its first game under interim coach Ed Orgeron, defeating Missouri (2-3, 0-2) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Darrel Williams added a career-high 130 yards and three touchdowns for LSU, which took the field without recently fired coach Les Miles for the first time since 2005